Saturday, August 16, 2008

No Excess

When you strip away what most employers tell employees, you'll find a desire for balance. Some examples:

  1. We want you to be friendly, but not unduly familiar.
  2. We want you to be analytical, but not indecisive.
  3. We want you to be bold, but not rash.
  4. We want you to consult us, but not bother us.
  5. We want you to complete projects, but not neglect new and higher priorities.
  6. We want you to be passionate, but not fanatical.
  7. We want you to be a thinker and a doer.

Describing where the balance needs to be struck is one of the major responsibilities of leaders. That's why "balance" should be a frequent topic at staff meetings.

1 comment:

Larry Sheldon said...

I used to (when I had direct reports) summarize:

You most important assignment is to keep me out of trouble--by getting done what needs to be done when it needs to be done, and by handling emergencies and other opportunities properly.


(The other side of that is that you have to without fail say that what was done was done on your order--if that turns out to be a mistake, it is your fault, not the subordinates.)

It is a tough balancing act.